Shoppers flip through glossy binders of Halloween costumes in one of Ximending’s costume shops.
All Hallow’s Eve is almost upon us and Taipei is gearing up for another night of Halloween fun. Every year, the parties just keep getting bigger and better. Trust me when I say that Halloween is one night out you won’t want to miss in Taiwan.
If you’re still stuck for ideas on where to get the coolest Halloween costume in Taiwan, here are a few suggestions that might help to get the pumpkin rolling.
Here are a few quick ideas to get you started:
Ximending Costume Shops
Ximending is the most popular place in town when it comes to finding cool costume ideas and frightful stage make-up. If you’re coming out of Exit 1, look for the police station on your left on the corner of Hanjong Street. You’ll find several Halloween costume rental shops there with everything from dance gear and cheerleader uniforms to Angry Bird costumes, vampire attire and traditional Chinese opera costumes. You’d be hard-pressed not to find something to wear in one of these shops. To rent a costume, you’ll be expected to pay a fee and leave some form of ID with the store. Another option is to put down a full deposit on the costume and get a refund when you return it. These stores are super busy throughout the month of October, so make sure you go early if you’ve got something specific in mind. Expect to pay between NT$300 and NT$1,000 for your costume. Make sure you have a look at the binder full of costume ideas if you don’t feel like poking around on their racks.
Ben Nye Stage Makeup
Theatrical Make-Up
If you’re after some ghoulish make-up and crazy special effects make-up, head for Ben Nye Theatrical Make-Up Shop, also known as Hdco. Ltd (花莉). This shop, which is also located in Ximending at 40 Hankou St Sec 2 (漢口街二段40號), does top-notch stage make-up and has been supplying Taiwan’s television and movie industries for over 40 years. For English services, call 0963-007-211 and ask for Krillen. I strongly suggest making a reservation for your make-up appointment as their schedules fill up fast. Each appointment is approximately an hour long for NT$1,000. I’ve had a number of friends turn into flesh-eating zombies in this store for several years in a row.
Chang-An West Road
I’ve heard a lot of expats refer to this area as Halloween Street. This is wear you can find packaged costumes for sale like the ones that you might find back home. The shops are located about a half a block west of Chen De Road. You’ll find half a dozen stores on this street within a few blocks of each other. Here’s a walking map from Taipei Main Station.
Canadian expat Carrie Kellenberger has kept a home base with her husband in Asia since 2003. A prolific traveler, Carrie has funded her travels primarily as a writer, editor, travel blogger and photographer, but she has also worked as an educator, voice over artist, model and nightclub singer. She draws upon her 15+ years of travel experience to write about travel-related issues and the countries she has visited on her award-winning web site, My Several Worlds.
Her photography and travel articles have appeared in both print and online publications around the world, including Travel and Leisure Asia, Unearthing Asia and Hip Compass Escapes.
